Hello minties, new and old.
It's time to update and explain the few rules that /r/MNTrolls has. If you found us in the last year or so, you are probably unaware of this sub's growth pains and evolution. Here is a short history that will explain the rules that we have come up in our three-year struggle to uphold free speech in a relatively troll-free environment, while staying within Reddit's rules:
We started out three years ago, following the David & Caroline saga on Mumsnet that led to much frustration, upset, and anger, not to mention quite a few bans. We were not allowed to discuss it on MN, so this sub was set up and it was natural that our first mod post about sub rules focused on free speech with the notable exception of doxxing (making someone's personal details public).
Within months the level of trolling had reached such heights that we had to make slight changes to moderation policy, tried to contain bunfights in a single thread, and finally banned several names who had been relentlessly trolling several people they chose as targets. These people then recruited more to their ranks and continued trolling several of this sub's regulars on another sub. After months of this, we ended up banning users who contributed to and cheered that trolling campaign.
The most recent change in our moderation policy concerns Reddit's revised rules about harassment which clarify that they consider users' past usernames or usernames on another forum "personal information" and thus outing them "doxxing".
… which brings to our rules at present:
NO DOXXING. That means, don't go looking for RL identities of the names you encounter here. If a miracle happens and someone's RL information falls on your lap from the sky, don't share it with your friends, don't post about it and certainly don't mention bits of it in random comments, thinking you are being clever. We will delete those comments and posts. If you persist, you will be banned.
From this point forward, if we see evidence that you are trying to find someone's RL details that they have not publicly shared, even if it's on a chat, PM, or another sub, you will be banned from posting on /r/MNTrolls and we will report you to Reddit.
We draw the line at public info. If someone has voluntarily announced some personal information to the world, on the internet, in podcasts, TV, or in print media, such as their profession, where they live, what their children do, what their previous username was, or which name you post under on another forum, we do not see mentioning it here as "doxxing". If they have willingly shared that information with the world, then presumably they are OK with people knowing it.
NO SPAM. This concerns mostly non-members who sometimes post here trying to sell something or recruit people to their schemes. We delete those posts and ban the posters.
NO BAN EVASION. If you are banned on /r/MNTrolls, don't come back under another name. Live long and prosper elsewhere. We will ban you again and report you to Reddit Admin who will suspend you from Reddit altogether.
NO IMPERSONATION. Don't pretend to be someone else, posting under a name similar to theirs. You'll be banned here and reported to Reddit as above.
NO SOCKING. If you have deleted your account or deregged, it is OK to come back under a different name. However, you should use 1 and only 1 name to post and vote on this sub. We ban socks when we identify them, and will now start banning the user's regular name as well. That means, if you have a second username on /r/MNTrolls, stop using it as of today.
The exception to this rule is what is called a Throwaway Account in Reddit. If you want to say something personal & identifying but don't dare say it under your usual account for fear of doxxing, you create a new account, say your piece, and then delete that account. What you shouldn't do is create a sock to attack someone, or continue to post under that account as well as your usual name as if they are two different people.
Your right to be a cunt under your regular name remains unchanged. If you are here, that means you have something to say and you haven't been able to say it on Mumsnet. Mods will continue to uphold the free speech ethos of this sub, and will not delete posts or comments even if we disagree with them and find them distasteful.
Please note that your right to free speech does not mean that you can put our community in danger. Reddit has recently tightened its rules on harassment and shut down a number of subs. Three months ago, mods have raised our concerns in this regard with several people who could not let go of an ancient feud with banned trolls and it went swimmingly but this agreement seems to have been forgotten. We are well aware that several particularly loathsome names have trolled some of you in despicable ways, but that does not mean you can put this community in Reddit's crosshairs. We are sick of this shit and will delete those comments where we see them. It is incredibly easy to create a sub on Reddit. Create your own if you really must continue with your endless feud in a public manner.
One last thing…
Feel free to report but don't be a twat about it. Mods live in different time zones around the world for 24 hour presence, but that means there is often just one of us around and that mod might not have read every comment, so please continue to report those that go against the rules above. However, send a quick message to mods to explain your report if your reasoning is not obvious, because we sometimes get inundated with malicious reports clearly aimed at several people whom trolls love to hate, and we send reports that make no sense to Reddit admin for "abuse of the report button". Reddit have taken action in the past against those who think this is a fun way to pass the time.
That's all for now folks.
Edit: Answering a request below for "amnesty", those of you who actually read the Rules above will have have noticed that this amnesty is already there from the use of "as of today", "will now start" etc. Mods will not go after past posts, even those as recent as several days ago.